Deliberately skiing controlled avalanches?

Will it ever be possible? If not, why not? If so, when? I know it sounds like a death-wish now, but at the rate our sport progresses (technology too), I'm beginning to believe that dismissing any batshit idea defies all logic.

I relate it to human flight though: If you were to travel back through time to 1859 (for argument's sake) and began preaching that humans'd be flying through the sky while sitting in a chair someday, most people would say you belonged without shoelaces in a padded room somewhere. Now, to quote Louis C.K., "you watch an Adam Sandler movie, take a big runny dump, and you're there."

Have any other batshit ideas regarding what people might be doing on skis someday?

Let's say you're in the slackcountry and you purposefully trigger an avalanche. Not only are you unbelievably fucktarded if you were to do so, you would also be putting the lives of others at risk. For what reason? So you can upload that cool picture on to your insta? So you can feel better about yourself?

Not aimed at you OP just the fucking gaper idiots I see in increasing numbers every time I start skinning out of the resort.

But yeah starting avalanches for fun is a fucking stupid idea, it serves no purpose to justify the massive levels of risk and endangerment to others it carries with it /rant

UglyboyWhy trigger an avalanche and ruin a few foot of pow so you can ski an avalanche? I mean it has no real application.

Unlike flight which had lots of application.

Merely because it's human nature to upstage oneself (and everyone else), to do the craziest thing imaginable, and to gain recognition for it.

Perhaps flight by way of aircraft is a poor analogy though. How about Felix Baumgartner's dive from space. Not many saw that one coming, but afterwards, I for one felt that he achieved something bragworthy for the human race.

PowstagramLet's say you're in the slackcountry and you purposefully trigger an avalanche. Not only are you unbelievably fucktarded if you were to do so, you would also be putting the lives of others at risk. For what reason? So you can upload that cool picture on to your insta? So you can feel better about yourself?

Not aimed at you OP just the fucking gaper idiots I see in increasing numbers every time I start skinning out of the resort.

But yeah starting avalanches for fun is a fucking stupid idea, it serves no purpose to justify the massive levels of risk and endangerment to others it carries with it /rant

Point taken. I didn't mean random people at random spots in the backcountry though. I envisioned it more like a one-off, televised Pastrana stunt.

I_am_in_here.Point taken. I didn't mean random people at random spots in the backcountry though. I envisioned it more like a one-off, televised Pastrana stunt.

I guess that'd be kinda different. At least there it'd only be the skier putting their life at risk, willingly so. Then again there's the danger that someone could try and replicate it- but I doubt that anyone but the most uneducated of backcountry noobs would try and repeat it.

That is indeed true, but what I think we're talking about here is the lone skier them-self triggering an avalanche for the gnar gnar- controlled avalanches are important though, nice and reassuring on those days when the snowpack is sketchy

PowstagramThat is indeed true, but what I think we're talking about here is the lone skier them-self triggering an avalanche for the gnar gnar- controlled avalanches are important though, nice and reassuring on those days when the snowpack is sketchy

tru, who the fuck would go out and c4 a hill tho, thats rachet shit, its actually illegal in some areas to induce an avalanche that puts others at risk

fresh_princetru, who the fuck would go out and c4 a hill tho, thats rachet shit, its actually illegal in some areas to induce an avalanche that puts others at risk

Bombing the hill in the daytime would be a ghetto as shit thing to do, always kinda gripping when you see skiers outrunning avys in big mountain edits though- like i can't remember which rider it was but he backflipped whilst this huge slide was homing in on him it was decent

PowstagramBombing the hill in the daytime would be a ghetto as shit thing to do, always kinda gripping when you see skiers outrunning avys in big mountain edits though- like i can't remember which rider it was but he backflipped whilst this huge slide was homing in on him it was decent

the only time I've been in what you would call a real avalanche I instinctively tried to outrun it, but the snow caught up to me and bowled me over to the side in a split second. I think there is a tendency for people to think about avalanches in this way when they haven't had the shit scared out of them by the crazy amount of power speed and weight of moving snow.

avalanches move downhill, the same direction youre going, so your relative speed would be super low or 0

pow skiing is what it is because you have speed relative to the snow and you get on a plane to float. in this scenario you'd most likely get scooped up like a puppy and sent into shit below, or just buried immediately

i think youre imagining an avalanche behaving like a wave but it doesn't

I know a couple guys that do this and if done properly, it's not that fucking stupid. You need a steep slope that ends quickly to a pretty flat area. You go into it, cut it, wait a split second for it to go, then ride the last few feet (uphill) portion of the slide. If you get too deep, you are in trouble. Things to note:

1) Make damn sure you are no where near any other skiers below.
2) Make damn sure the slide runout path ends flat to prevent the slide from going far. Also, make sure the runout isn't going to send you into the trees. A lot of slides go much further than people realize.
3) Make damn sure you don't get too far into the sliding snow otherwise you risk trauma like hitting rocks and stumps and could get buried at the bottom.

Again, for the most part intentionally setting off slide and skiing them is a really bad idea for most skiers. However, if done properly by the right skier, it might not be that bad of an idea and incredibly fun. Line selection and knowledge of avalanche terrain is key.

Sidenote: I've never actually done this myself, but this comes from a couple older, extremely ripping skiers in Utah that spend most of their time in avalanche terrain in the backcountry. I'm no expert.